Melbourne to Alice Springs Overland (Basix)

Days

10

Price from

$1,480AUD

Travel through the winding roads of Australia's most famous scenic drive, the Great Ocean Road to the Flinders Ranges and onto Uluru via the famous Oodnadatta Track

Travel from Melbourne to the Red dirt of Alice Springs, taking in the region's biggest and best-known drawcards along the way. Drive the famous Great Ocean Road and Oodnadatta Track, hike the Grampians to the Pinnacles, stroll around Wilpena Pound, witness Uluru during a stunning sunrise, wander through the majestic canyons of Kata Tjuta and admire the views from Kings Canyon.

Melbourne to Alice Springs Overland (Basix)

Travel through the winding roads of Australia's most famous scenic drive, the Great Ocean Road to the Flinders Ranges and onto Uluru via the famous Oodnadatta Track

Travel from Melbourne to the Red dirt of Alice Springs, taking in the region's biggest and best-known drawcards along the way. Drive the famous Great Ocean Road and Oodnadatta Track, hike the Grampians to the Pinnacles, stroll around Wilpena Pound, witness Uluru during a stunning sunrise, wander through the majestic canyons of Kata Tjuta and admire the views from Kings Canyon.

Why you'll love this trip

Cruise the Great Ocean Road in comfort and hike the famous Grampians National Park

Enjoy the flexibility of a private vehicle, the local knowledge of a passionate guide and the magic of camping under the great southern sky

See some beautifully remote places in the Flinders ranges

Check out one of the strangest towns in Australia - built underground

Get up early and see the sun rise over Uluru

Is this trip right for you?

This is a basic trip, covering the highlights of Australia's Great Ocean Road and Grampians, Flinders Ranges, and the Red Centre

You'll spend some nights of the trip sleeping in outback camping grounds. While conditions can be basic and facilities are minimal, this is all part of the adventure. You'll also need to pitch in with preparing meals and cleaning. This is part of the experience of travelling in a group.

This trip requires a moderate level of fitness as it involves a lot of walking, allowing you to truly enjoy the surrounding nature. Some hikes are longer and more challenging than others. Please bring sturdy, comfortable walking shoes and comfortable clothing.

This trip is BASIX and we use mixed gender multishare accommodation. This means, the minimum age for the trip is 18 years old because minors aren't able to sleep in mixed gender rooms.

Temperatures in the red Centre be extreme. During the day the weather can be hot (and the Australian sun is strong) so please bring appropriate clothing, use sun protection and drink plenty of water. In the evenings temperatures really drop, so ensure you have base layers and warm clothing.

Gallery

Itinerary

Departing cosmopolitan Melbourne, hit the road west to Geelong and the famous surf town of Torquay. From there, begin the journey along one of Australia’s most beautiful and famous drives, the Great Ocean Road. Stop in at Kennett River for some koala spotting, then break for lunch in Apollo Bay. Continue on to the Twelve Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge, spending the night in Warrnambool.

Note: Total driving time today is about six and a half hours (approximately 450kms)
Total walking time will be about two hours (approximately 2kms)

Included Activities

12 Apostles & London Bridge

Koala spotting - Great Ocean Road

Melba Gully Walk - Otway Ranges

Swim at Lorne (Summer months)

Meals Included

Begin the day checking out more of the Great Ocean Road's wonders, then drive into the Grampians National Park – an area rich in Aboriginal culture and beautiful landscapes. We'll visit the Brambuk Aboriginal Culture Centre to learn about the period known as the Dreaming, then hike up to the Pinnacles for impressive views across the Grampians. Tonight we enjoy a traditional Aussie BBQ in Halls Gap.

Note: Total driving time today is about six hours (approximately 400kms)
Total walking time will be about four hours (approximately 5kms)

Included Activities

Brambuk Culture Centre

Loch Ard Gorge

Mackenzie Falls - Grampians

Pinnacles Walk - Grampians

Meals Included

Hike up to McKenzie Falls, the highest waterfalls in the Grampians, and check out other sights such as The Balconies and Reeds Lookout. Leaving the Grampians, pass through the town of Horsham before crossing the famed mighty Murray River and making the last leg of the journey into Adelaide.

Note: Total driving time today is about seven and a half hours (approximately 550kms) Estimated time of arrival into Adelaide is 7.30pm.
Total walking time will be about two and a half hours (approximately 3.5kms)

Included Activities

Reeds Lookout (The Balconies) & Boroka Lookout

Meals Included

Barely 100 clicks north of Adelaide lies the Clare Valley, an undulating sprawl of vineyards, wine cellars and quaint bluestone cottages. Renowned for its production of world-class Rieslings, this is one of Australia’s oldest wine regions – and one of its prettiest too. On the drive through to Wilpena Pound you’ll be treated to some extraordinary views of the Flinders Ranges, which, stretching for over 430 km across South Australia, are the state’s biggest mountain range. Arriving at our campsite there’ll be time for hike before snuggling down in a swag.

Total driving time takes around five hours.

Accommodation

Camping (with basic facilities) (1 night)

Included Activities

Wilpena Pound

Meals Included

Leaving the flinders Ranges, we cruise north towards the tiny town of Lyndhurst, where the entrance sign proclaims ‘Welcome to Lyndhurst. Pop. 30 (most days)’. Hitting the famous Oodnadatta Track, we’ll make a stop by Lake Eyre (Australia’s largest salt lake), before arriving at our campsite in William Creek – base for the night.

Total driving time today is approximately 8 hours

Accommodation

Camping (with basic facilities) (1 night)

Meals Included

Covering an area of six million acres, Anna Creek Station is the world’s largest working cattle station. The estate was founded in 1899 by Sir Sidney Kidman, a distant relative of Nicole who set from home out on a one-eyed horse at age 13 to make his fortune. By mid afternoon we’ll have reached the opal-mining town of Coober Pedy. The weather here is so hot that life’s better lived underground. After taking a guided tour of this subterranean society, and checking into an underground bunkhouse, you’ll have the afternoon at leisure. Try your luck ‘noodling’ for opals, or finish the day at Josephine’s Kangaroo Orphanage to see what’s hopping about.

Total driving time today is approximately 6.5 hours

Accommodation

Underground Multishare (1 night)

Included Activities

Anna Creek Station

Coober Pedy Mine tour

Josephine’s Gallery and Kangaroo Orphanage

Meals Included

We’ll be honest, there’s a fair bit of driving today. From Coober Pedy we travel across the Moon Plains, past the Dingo Fence, past Breakaways Reserve, and into Yulara. Make sure you have your Ipod fully charged and your neck cushion handy.

Today driving time will be about 8.5 hours.

Accommodation

Permanent tented camp (with shared facilities) (1 night)

Included Activities

Dingo Fence

Meals Included

Rise early this morning and be rewarded with a glorious Uluru sunrise. While the day is still fresh, enjoy a walk around the base of 'the rock', which is of great spiritual significance to the Anangu people. We walk to the cave paintings near Mutitjulu Waterhole at the base of Uluru where you wiill be in the hands of an Anangu guide who will share the stories of this unique landscape and explain the Art, the Culture and connection to Land. This exclusive experience will give you an exclusive insight to the meaning behind Anangu art and traditional culture. The on-site Cultural Centre also houses an extensive collection of indigenous arts and crafts for you to browse. . Head back to camp for lunch. In the afternoon, see the landscape from a different angle, perhaps from a helicopter flight over Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. This is optional and come at an additional cost.

There isn't much driving today, about an hour in total between destinations. You will walk approximately 5km.

Accommodation

Permanent tented camp (with shared facilities) (1 night)

Included Activities

Uluru & Kata Tjuta National Park Entrance

Uluru Base Walk

Uluru Cultural Centre

Kata Tjuta

Meals Included

Uluru isn’t Coober Pedy, but it still gets pretty hot here come midday. If you’re keen to beat the heat on a walk around the rock’s base, we recommend an early rise. Uluru holds great significance to the local Anangu people, and appreciating this is key to appreciating Uluru itself. An indigenous guide will explain a little about the land during a cultural interpretative walk, after which there’s the opportunity to learn more at the onsite Cultural Centre. Later in the day there’s also the opportunity of taking a helicopter flight over Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park before we hit the road again for Watarrka National Park (Kings Canyon).

Today, driving time is about four hrs and walking is up to ten kilometres.

Accommodation

Permanent tented camp (with shared facilities) (1 night)

Included Activities

Watarrka National Park Entry Fees

Meals Included

With its 300-metre high sandstone walls, hidden waterholes, fern forests, chasms, canyons and caverns, Watarrka National Park is central Australia’s answer to an oasis. The highlight attractions here are the Garden of Eden, the Amphitheatre and the Lost City – all sites you’ll get to visit on the Rim Walk. Following lunch it’s back on the road for the onward drive to Alice Springs, where this adventure concludes.

Driving time today is approximately 5 hours back to Alice Springs, and the Rim Walk is approximately 6km.

Days

10

Price from

$1,480AUD

Travel through the winding roads of Australia's most famous scenic drive, the Great Ocean Road to the Flinders Ranges and onto Uluru via the famous Oodnadatta Track

Travel from Melbourne to the Red dirt of Alice Springs, taking in the region's biggest and best-known drawcards along the way. Drive the famous Great Ocean Road and Oodnadatta Track, hike the Grampians to the Pinnacles, stroll around Wilpena Pound, witness Uluru during a stunning sunrise, wander through the majestic canyons of Kata Tjuta and admire the views from Kings Canyon.

Next trip departures

Jump to a departure month

Important notes

1. Tour commences in Melbourne on day 1 at 7am and finishes in Alice Springs day 10 at approx 6pm
2. Onward travel to be booked the following day
3. This trip requires a sleeping bag

Essential trip information

Want an in-depth insight into this trip? Essential Trip Information provides a detailed itinerary, visa info, how to get to your hotel, what's included - pretty much everything you need to know about this adventure and more.